Everyone should have at least a rough idea of where they want to be financially in five or 10 years, but most of these plans will fail unless they account for unexpected speed bumps.

Trent at The Simple Dollar has a plan to be financially independent in 10 years, but he fully expects something to derail him before he reaches his goal.

A child will get sick. Someone will lose a job. A car will fail. A career change will make itself available. An investment won't return like you think it will. An identity is stolen. A friend needs help. You'll get a severe illness or an injury.

There are countless things that can prevent your plan from coming to fruition. The more time there is between today and the day of achieving your goal, the more likely it is that one of these things will come to pass.

There are things you can do to prepare though. Trent suggests building a large emergency fund into your plan, even if it means hitting certain milestones a little bit later than you'd like. You also shouldn't make major lifestyle decisions under the assumption that your income and expenses will remain constant.

We've talked about how to build an emergency fund, step by step, and even where to get the…
Read more Read more

Even if you plan for the worst, there's still no guarantee that reality will cooperate with your goals. That's not to say that you shouldn't make a financial plan, but it's important to compensate as well as you can for potential setbacks. Be sure to check out the source link for more advice.